Tom Carper: “I wish to express my thanks and the thanks of my constituents in Delaware to him and Senator Lott for the partnership…”

“I wish to express my thanks and the thanks of my constituents in Delaware to him and Senator Lott for the partnership they forged in bringing us to the reauthorization victory we celebrate this afternoon. Stephen was a member of my personal staff when I was first elected to the Senate. He is succeeded by Beth Osborne. We have a great working relationship with him. He has great talent. He is someone who has not just been in Washington and the Senate, but he worked for railroads in the past, including Amtrak. Given his experience, he was invaluable in providing guidance and support in this process. I have come from a meeting at the other end of the Capitol, that may still be going on, that started around 2 o'clock. The meeting involved members of organized labor and several leaders in the House of Representatives who have jurisdiction, Democrat and Republican, over infrastructure and passenger rail. The meeting was driven in part because of the threat of a potential work stoppage on our passenger rail system.”